At 7:00 PM on Monday February 9, 2015, Dr. Judith Scarl is to speak on  
"Unlocking the Mysteries of the Rusty Blackbird: From Dramatic  
Declines to Conservation Collaborations" in the Mayer Room of the Howe  
Library in Hanover, NH. This program, sponsored by the Mascoma Chapter  
of New Hampshire Audubon, is free and open to the public.

Rusty Blackbirds have experienced one of the steepest declines of any  
once-common North American landbird, losing more than 85% of their  
population over a 40-year period.  Only within the last 15 years did  
scientists notice these alarming trends.  What caused Rusty Blackbird  
populations to plummet, and why did it take so long for anyone to  
notice?  Dr. Scarl will address these questions as well as discuss the  
Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz, a 38 state, 9 province, and 3  
Canadian territory citizen science initiative to find Rusty Blackbirds  
during their northward migration.  Squeaky-hinge songs, blackbird  
lore, and the "Rusty Rainbow" will feature throughout the evening in  
her illustrated talk.

Judith Scarl holds an A.B. from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Cornell,  
where she studied vocal communication and sex differences in parrots.  
Dr. Scarl, now a Conservation Biologist at the Vermont Center for  
Ecostudies in Norwich, directs a four-state montane bird monitoring  
project called Mountain Birdwatch (http://www.vtecostudies.org/MBW/),  
and is the International Coordinator of the Rusty Blackbird Spring  
Migration Blitz (http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration- 
blitz/).  She is also a member of the steering committee of the  
International Rusty Blackbird Working Group and a monitoring co-chair  
of the International Bicknell's Thrush Conservation Group.

George Clark
Norwich, VT

****************************************************************
To post messages, send e-mail to:  [log in to unmask]
Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages.
To contact the list owner:  [log in to unmask]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Web based archives and subscription management are available at:
http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html
****************************************************************